Car Magazine drives the BMW X1 xDrive20d

With exactly a month before the official launch, The British fellows at Car Magazine were invited to a BMW X1 testing session in Germany. The …

With exactly a month before the official launch, The British fellows at Car Magazine were invited to a BMW X1 testing session in Germany. The entry level Sports Activity Vehicle, that being the X1, plays a central role in BMW’s emotional campaign, “Joy”, a marketing move that started earlier in the year with the new BMW Z4.

Even though we’ve been craving for an X1 since the moment we saw the first official photos and actually even more after the Frankfurt Auto Show, we will have to wait until 2011 when the first X1 models will arrive on U.S. soil.

But in the mean time, let’s take a look at the X1 xDrive20d, a vehicle also tested by Hannes Oosthuizen, Deputy Editor of Car Magazine, who told us during a Twitter conversation that for an SUV, the X1 has very good dynamics, firm, but not uncomfortable ride and with a great interior design.

So, let’s see what the other Car Magazine editors are saying:

How does the X1 fair on the road?
Very well. As 4x4s in this sector go, it’s definitely up there with the class leaders, sharply turning in with very little body roll, and backed up by a helm that has no slop or slack. And at speed it’s quiet too, with only a faint rustle from the enormous door mirrors.

The engine is also a peach, spinning smoothly and sweetly, but it’s more audible in the X1 than the equivalent Three. Blame the extra kerbweight, and our test car’s six-speed automatic, which does its best to restrain an otherwise fine engine.

We’ll reserve our judgment on the X1’s ride until we try one in the UK though; over some (rare) rough German tarmac there was enough of a hint that the X1 might be too stiff for our roads.

Verdict
Some of you will hate this car because it’s a BMW, some of you will hate it because it appears to be a 4×4. But spec the X1 with a manual transmission and rear-drive chassis, and we reckon it’ll come close to being as great as a 3-series Touring. The official figures won’t be far off either.

Read the final conclusion and more information about the X1, over CAR Magazine.